Eating my words...

A few years ago, I tried to convince my older sister to put together a blog. "It's simple!" I assured her. "It really doesn't take that much time, and even someone with few computer skills can manage it." Then I had a third child and have been reminded a few times of my empty blog. These days, I'm lucky if I manage to upload pictures to Facebook never mind adding captions or notes about our activities.

Here's a quick rundown of what we've been up to since June (very much aware we're almost to the end of October).

In July we went to Oregon and Washington to see members of the Zafft clan at a reunion/anniversary celebration for Ian's aunt and uncle. Here are pictures from the time we spent in Portland. I'm trying to find the album from Leavenworth...


After returning from the West coast, we celebrated Aiden's SEVENTH birthday:


I also participated in a town theater production of Cinderella! No, I wasn't Cinderella or even in the cast, but I did brush the dust off my flute and challenge my fingers for some fun in the orchestra.

Then I took some cast photos for the company. They turned out really nicely despite the high ceilings and difficult lighting.


Aiden started 2nd Grade on August 27th and it seems almost impossible that just three years ago we went from this:

To this:


Since the start of school, we have been just trying to keep up with the normal day-to-day "stuff" including packing lunches, doing homework, and trying to figure out why Devin doesn't sleep. I've been keeping busy with joining our school's School Site Council and trying to become more engaged with the School Committee. Ian is busy with work and putting up with the craziness of the house.

We recently went to the circus and to our town's fire station open house. But I'll add those pictures on a separate post. (I know, I know... pie-crust promises!)

Playing hooky at the zoo!

Last Friday was beautiful weather in our area and the last day of my Spring Break. So we took Aiden out of school, nabbed a friend of his, and headed for Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence. It was a bit cooler than we'd hoped but the kids had a blast!

Working our way through the African exhibits. Aiden in on the right and his friend, Ashton, is on the left (he's a bit taller than Aiden but they're about the same age).




Aiden found a feather over by one of the cranes.


Looking for elephants (they were still inside because it was a bit early and chilly).


We tracked down the giraffes and elephants inside their barn.


Devin was enthralled!


Our friend, Ashton, is a bit of a cut-up (takes after his father). He saw the camera lens pointed his direction and gave me a few faces.


But I did eventually get some cute shots of the boys.




They had a lot of fun and we were grateful to steal away for a day of hooky!

Dino Fun in Portland

Grandma Wrz has been a grandma for quite some time and comes equipped with all sorts of great toys. However, I had no idea how many dinosaurs she owned, or I would have asked for them earlier in our trip.

Devin is a huge dinosaur nut and carts various dinosaurs with him all over the place. He'll play with cars and trains, too, but dinos are where his heart lies. So, he was in absolute heaven when Grandma brought out these:



His favorite dinosaur soon became a great big orange and green one with a mouth that opens and closes.




Eventually, we found one of the dinos that moves and roars. Devin was both fascinated and terrified by it. The following scene played out many, many times.


Not to be outdone, Aiden soon got into the dino games!


This is his demonstration of size differences in the dinos.


This dragon, while not technically a dinosaur, was--by far--the favorite of the dino toys.


Thank goodness for grandmas with great toys (especially while far away from home)!

Portland Children's Museum

We headed to a favorite spot in Portland, the children's museum! The PCM currently has a neat Lego exhibit with lots of castle-related displays all made out of Legos.

Devin was guarding the treasure room.


Fine art made from Legos.


Working on our aim with the catapult!


Working on some jousting skills...


Checking out a dragon made entirely of Legos (no, I don't know what Ian's doing here).


After spending some time in the Legos exhibit, we did make our way to other parts of the PCM.

A future career as a grocery store clerk?


Where was this Light Bright when I was a kid???


Checking out the cute kid in the mirror...


A little music time.


The train table is always a hit!


As is the dig pit!




And last, but not least, the WATER room!






Thanks, Gramma Wrz, for a fun day!

Fun at G&G's House

We're in Portland for a few days to visit family and for my sister's wedding. Aiden has been looking forward to seeing his cousin, Megan, for weeks. They've had a happy reunion and are having a great time together.

Even just watching TV together, you can tell they're having a great time.




Devin's been enjoying himself at G&G's house, too. He found a new best friend to play with.

His new "friend," the penguin, is stuck in the grocery cart.






And what do you do with your cousin's My Little Pony? Ride it, of course!




We're looking forward to a few more days of family fun before heading home to Boston.

Cape Fun!

For a girl who got married at the ocean, I'm not a very "beachy" spirit. I find the beach messy and a real pain. I don't like saltwater or what the wind does to my hair. But when you're a mom to young kids and you live about 90 minutes from one of America's favorite holiday retreats, the Cape becomes an unavoidable reality (What? No violins? No tears? Sheesh! No sympathy at all!).

For the past five years, Ian's parents have generously rented a house in Wellfleet near the beach. For the past four years, it's been on Lieutenant Island which is a tidal island with some very pretty beaches. The island only has about 20 homes on it so it's very quiet and private. No crowds or parking issues. Just a walk to the water! Hurricane Irene tried to mess with our plans but only delayed the vacation by two days. Our first evening down, we headed for the water to watch the sun set. It was gorgeous and the kids dug right in!

A view from the house and then the continuing setting sun.



Headed down to the beach.




Getting down to the business of sand and water exploration.




The next few days were filled with sandcastles, kite flying, and enjoying the warm water.

Grandpa Zafft and Devin.


A passerby putting the ocean breezes to work for her.


Ian catching some breezes, too!


The boys built a HUGE sandcastle complete with moat and pyramid (don't ask).




And on our last day, we saw some amazing kite surfers!


So long, summer. We'll miss you!